Inlay in the Form of a Hieroglyph

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Hieroglyphs were at times carved separately and inlaid on larger objects, such as stone sarcophagi. The face hieroglyph not only represented the word “face” but also stood for its phonetic value in the ancient Egyptian words for “upon”, “chief”, “heaven”, and others. As with most hieroglyphs representing parts of the human body, the red color of this one corresponds to the reddish hue used in depictions of Egyptian males, as opposed to the yellowish hue used for depicting females.

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